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Hole in the Wall: The Little Things

Chapter One

By Roofles

Author's note: I bet no one saw something like this coming. This was a silly idea I had in my head for a while now. I grew up watching shows like Tom and Jerry, Pinky and the Brain, and movies such as rescuers down under, the burrowers, an American tail, ect. This is just a silly piece I wanted to try my hand at before continuing any major projects. Don't expect it to go far.

WARNING: Does contain extreme size difference. If that's not your thing? Cool. Don't read.

"Are you sure this is a smart idea?" Most of life's horrible events start with such a question as if foreshadowing things to come.

"It's fine! They've gone to class." Anthony assured his brother as the two rats moved the small painted square tile from the side of the wall and stepped out onto the desk. "I've been keeping a close watch on them. Got their patterns down!"

"Doesn't fill me with confidence, Andy." Theodore rolled his eyes as he poked his head out before looking around the massive room cautiously. He was far more timid and meek than his brother, despite being the larger of the two rodents.

The small piece of plaster the two of them had made, designing it to match the very wall they were coming through, and used to cover their entrance with, was set aside as Theo stepped out onto the hardwood desk inside the college student's dorm room. He looked around, making sure no one was around before motioning for Anthony to follow along. Theo's pink nose twitching as he looked around carefully, on edge despite the assurance from his brother.

This was far out of Theo's comfort zone.

Anthony had said he liked to come here whenever it got late and, after great persistence, was able to convince Theodore to tag along this time around. To get out an explore! It wasn't allowed from those back home and even forbidden by rat culture to come to such a place. There were plenty of places the rat brothers could go and Anthony chose the one place they had been forbidden to.

Their parents would string them up by their tails if they ever found out they had disobeyed them. That only seemed to excite his brother more, spurring him on to do pull these dangerous antics. The rebellious son that even Theo had trouble reigning in at times.

"Relax, no one's here." Anthony just stretched. "Just nice to be out of the tunnels, out in the open!" He laughed loudly, not even trying to keep quiet.

"Right..." Theo kept his ears up, eyes open as his pink nose sniffed at the air around them.

The room looked normal enough, Theo supposed carefully looking around. There was a bunk bed pushed against the far wall, a nightstand near the head and a side room Theo assumed to be the bathroom. Other than the desk, the TV stuffed into the corner and a small closet, there wasn't much else to say about the room. Coats hung off the back of the door and the place looked... lived in. It needed a good cleaning but that wasn't what caught Theo's attention.

To a rat, their size, this wasn't any normal room.

It wasn't like Anthony or Theodores shared a room back home, no. They had scavenged for what they had, and it showed. From match boxes, to cotton balls, scraps of fabric and balls of yarn, the rat's back home made do. They were the best recyclers out there. But that wasn't the issue. The issue wasn't the stuff in the room, but the sheer size of everything.

Everything was gigantic, disproportionate to the two rodents standing there on the student's desk looking around the room in a mixture of awe-inspiring fascination and spine tingling fear. Giant might've been an understatement as Theo jaw dropped open as he stared at everything around them. The sheer size of everything had made him lock up and freeze, like a deer in headlights. Not exactly the best form of defense when you were the size of an average cellphone. He looked over at the two coats hanging up on the back of the door. He could easily fit into one of those pockets! Then, panning his head from one side of the room towards the other, Theo looked to the bed. The pillow alone was larger than his bed was back home!

The pencil nearby was longer than he was, and Anthony had laid out next to it, laughing about the whole thing, not seeming to realize just how dangerous this all was. There was a very clear reason why there had been warning signs marking off this part of their underground tunnels system, the lifeblood of their hometown of Rathole.

"Look at this! They could use me as a pen!" Anthony laughed as Theo quickly came over to pull Anthony back to his feet, already regretting to agreeing to any of this. He grunted, straining a bit to help lift the fat rat back to his bare feet.

Anthony had put on weight this past winter and now Theo knew where his brother had been sneaking snacks from.

"This is insane and stupid and-and I hate it!" Theo was already turning around, planning to high tail it out of here as he tried to pull his brother along with him. The rat didn't care what kind of treats or snacks these college student had. It was suicide to stay any longer.

It was too risky to get caught to care about snacks!

Theo didn't even notice Anthony let go of his hand as he bolted for the exit and safety within the walls of the dorm room they had snuck into. The rats had tunnels everywhere and most of them stayed underground, where it was safe with the other smaller mammals. At least the others, like the rabbits, and moles, weren't carnivores.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Anthony grabbed his furless tail, skidding across the desks wooden surface as Theo practically dove into the hole.

"No! Don't stop me! This hole was made for me!" Theo tried to claw his way there as his brother's feet skidded over the desk's wooden surface.

"I know this seems like a bad idea! Theo, just wait!" Anthony struggled to keep his brother from pulling himself into their hidey hole. "Look. Just wait! I need your help... I'm just so damn sick of rice and beans and grains! If ma' makes one more grain-bread pudding for desert, I'm gonna' lose it! I know they keep us alive, but I miss cheese! And chocolate! And something, anything other than beans! Pleaaaasseeee. Theo. You're my only hope to keep me fed."

Anthony dropped to his knees, begging now with large eyes. The fat rat looking absolutely pitiful. Theo wasn't buying it. Anthony was almost twice his size, widthwise, than his brother was.

"I'll clean the nest for the rest of the month! I'll rub your paws, do the dishes, whatever you want! Just please. Let me eat cake again." Anthony pleaded with both of his grubby hands together, hand sunk low as he sniffled pathetically. "I just want... pizza."

"Andy, there is a reason why we're not allowed into their homes!" Theo hissed at his brother, still looking around the room on edge. "We're already breaking so many laws just coming here. This is such a bad idea!" He stopped, rubbing his whiskered muzzle several times. He liked to feel his whiskers against his hands to clean them off. It tickled but he didn't mind the therapeutic act. "What if mum and dad find out? We'd be grounded until the day we die! She'd chop our tails off and hang them in warning for our siblings!"

Theodore loudly squeaked several times, feeling jittery about being here. The sound was lost in the massive room.

"They won't find out." Anthony tried to calm his fidgeting brother down. "No one will find out that we snuck into one of the Bigs homes. I do this all the time!"

"What?" Theodore jumped, turning around on his brother wide eyed and afraid. Theo's red eyes nearly bugged out of his white furred face; the albino rat unable to believe what he had just heard.

"It's fine." Anthony just waved it off with a laugh. "Nothing has happened."

"Yet, Andy. Nothing has happened yet!" Theo began to pace, trying to lay out the facts and reasons before his brother. "There is a reason WHY we call them big and us small, Andy!" Theo turned on his brother, wanting to shake some sense into him. Or slap him. Maybe both, Theo was still undecided which would be more effective. "They could, literally, eat us! Mum says they do. I don't want to be cat food! It's, like, my number one thing I don't want to happen!"

"I doubt they actually eat Smalls," Anthony didn't seem very convinced as he sweated bullets at the idea, his tail curling around his leg as he looked around to be sure no one else was here. "I just want some cake..." His stomach rumbled as if in support to the insane idea of raiding a Bigs home.

"Look. Let's just go. We can brag to all our friends that we were in a Bigs room." Theo tried to be the reasonable one, like always. "And, yes, this is kind of cool. Everything is like ginormous!" He motioned to the nearby books crudely stacked on the side of the desk. "It would take me a year to read one of those and I'd need help from our other brothers and sisters just to turn the page," he laughed at the idea. The squeaky sound brought a warm rosy glow to his snowy white furred cheeks.

Unlike his brother, Theodore was an albino rat and had bright white fur and beady red eyes because of it. When he blushed, you could see it through his fur and watch as it filled his ears, turning him reddish all over. While Theo hated it, everyone back at the colony called him cute, loving how he reacted to their teasing.

"See! This is a cool idea! Think about it," Anthony jumped on his enthusiasm. He wrapped an arm around Theo's neck and turned him back towards the giant's room. "Just think! If the books and pencils and erasers," he motioned towards the things scattered about the desk. "Are this big? Think how big their chocolate bars are! How big the cheese sticks will be? It's a Small's dream come true!"

"We could feed the entire family. Hell, half the colony..." Theo thought it over slowly, calculating everything out. Anthony rolled his eyes but let his nerdy brother have this one as Theo did the numbers quickly in his head as he counted on his fingers numerous times over. "And there are a lot of us. Thirteen, counting ma' and pa'. We eat roughly three pounds a day with every mouth in the family, not counting the babies on the way..." He muttered, thinking it over as he counted everything out on his fingers as if they were an abacus. "It has been difficult for everyone with the drought this summer and spider infestation last spring..."

"It isn't easy for mum and dad to feed so many mouths either! We'd be heroes if we brought something back with us." Anthony quickly nodded. "It'll last us months! These Bigs toss things out all the time. They won't even notice a missing choco bar... or three. We'll just carry back whatever we can! You know how strong us rats can be!" He flexed for his brother who just rolled his eyes, still worried about it.

"Only if we bring back high fiber, preferably nut filled snacks." Theo thought it over. "High in grains and," he muttered thinking of the health benefits. "We are lacking vitamin C. Something citrus, make sure no one gets sick when fall and winter hits..."

Anthony, with a roll of his eyes, ignored him.

The fat rat was already drooling at the idea of sinking his buck teeth into a piece of chocolate the size of his head. Anthony was sure he could eat an entire chocolate bar by himself, not caring if his eyes were too big for his stomach on the matter. Licking his lips, he wiggled his fingers creepily as he crept across the desk looking around for something to sink his incisors into.

The rat's nose twitched, whiskers wiggling as the rodent sniffed around for the sweet treat hidden away within the college student room. Their sense of smell was one of their greatest asset after all and the two rats together sniffed around for the students hidden stash of treats.

"Are you sure he has any?" Theo asked. He could smell the powerful male smell in the room but little else. It was rather distracting, and he blamed the blush overtaking his face on his uncomfortable fear of being found over anything else.

He was used to smelling the old, moldy papercrafts of Rathole, their colonies home in the water-stained tunnels they dug through the building. Paper craft was one of the greatest skills they had and, stealing old newspapers and bits of fibers, they could craft entire cities in weeks. Where they lacked in size, they made up for in manpower. Numerous rats working together could build entire bridges!

It was one of the things Theo's did love about home. While, nothing fancy, the rat's had built a home for themselves utilizing their surroundings and the waste of those from up above. Recycling everything to create roads, signs, the very buildings they lived in. Theo wanted nothing more than to, one day, help design structures for them to live in.

There was only one issue. Their society didn't live with a mindset of staying in one place.

If things ever turned south, the crude buildings and craftsmanship of the many rats also worked in their favor if they were ever found out. All the rats, working together in tandem, could move their belongings to a new, safer environment within the hour. Something every rat, Theo and Anthony included, were trained in.

Which is why, exposing yourself to a Big, was out of the question. It was forbidden. A taboo. Breaking rat law...

Yet, despite that ever growing fear, Theo had pulled out his sketchbook from his satchel. Opening it to a blank page, he began sketching out the room before him. Marveling at the looming building of a bed before the two and at the backyard sized desk the two were standing on.

With a piece of charcoal, Theo etched everything out on the white canvas. Roughly estimating the size of everything as he went, taking small notes as he did so. He marveled out how they used wooden pegs to keep everything in place.

"So simple. Cheap, but efficient. That'll be good..." Theo muttered making several notes on the side. "I'm sure there are carvers at Squirrel Hovel that could reproduce such a thing."

There was a strange excitement about this! Sneaking into a Bigs room and exploring without their knowledge, sketching out things and recording his findings. A little creepy, sure, but exciting, nonetheless. Theo had only read about them! Never having the misfortune to meet one but what Small out there had never wondered what it would be like to accidentally bump into a wolf or a bear?

Sure, there were rabbits and moles and the occasional badger in the larger underground cities... but a lion? Theo tried not to squeak at the idea. It would be terrifying to meet any large cat! Let alone a large predator.... Yet, here he was... looking around the desk of one of the Bigs.

It looked straight out what he'd seen online; the rats having tapped into the main internet lines ages ago. Reconnecting it whenever they moved was always a pain, but it was worth the hassle to have free internet.

The desk was neat and tidy, and Theo could respect that. There was a stack of books next to the hole they'd come through, pushed up against the wall with decorative figurines holding them up. A lamp was on the corner table but the two didn't need the light in the early afternoon. A small stack of papers was held down by several pens and a pencil.

"Exciting, isn't it? Sends a thrill from your whiskers all the way to the tip of your tail!" His brother asked, looking around the desk. Anthony kept needing to pull down his shirt to hide his rather pronounce stomach. Theo would have to sew an extra button in those pants as well once they got home, Anthony struggling to walk around as he explored the new environment.

The desk was the least interesting bit and Theo walked over to the edge, trying to find a safe way down for the two to use. It was rat nature to build things and create makeshift means to transverse the large world they were born into. Climbing was as natural as chewing was for a rat and Theo was already figuring out a means to get down.

"Hm..." Theo was thinking it over, putting what he had around him together as he judged the height from the top of the desk to the floor.

Even a fall at this height wouldn't kill them, their body mass and size prevented such a thing on a carpeted floor. It still would be painful, and Theo didn't want to tempt fate and risk having one of them injure themselves, but they'd survive. Theo just wasn't looking forward to the idea of jumping.

"Where would the snacks be?" Theo asked, needing to ascertain the time it would take to get the snacks and get back to the safety of their exit. Standard rat procedure. In and out as quickly as you could. Don't take what you can't carry or what would slow you down. "If he even has any..." Theo muttered, taking off his satchel and placing it on the desk to come back for.

The clunky bag would weigh him down and get in the way if he needed to squeeze through anything. It'd be safe here where he could pick it back up on their return.

"He's a college student that lives alone, in the dorms, with rich parents." Anthony stopped, rolling his eyes as he looked over at his brother with the motion. "I mean, I guess he has a roommate, but I've never seen them. I think they live off campus."

"You've been spying for a while, huh?" Theo frowned at his brother who sheepishly shrugged in reply. "Stalker or voyeur? I don't want to know." He waved it off as he walked the edge of the desk, just glad heights wasn't on his lists of fears.

Just everything else was.

"How do you know he has rich parents?" Theo had to ask, laughing at the sound judgement to his argument. He would never admit he wanted to taste some chocolate. It was a rare treat that would usually melt before they could safely store it.

Big's had the best treats and, Anthony was right. They did waste a lot.

It was one reason why Smalls like the two of them were able to get by in a world filled with Bigs. If the Bigs didn't waste as much as they did, the rodent population would've died out years ago. Their family weren't part of the scavengers guild of Rathole, but their uncle had been. He'd tell the two boys endless stories about the Bigs. Both good and bad.

Theodore blamed their uncle for putting these thoughts into Anthony's head.

"Look." Anthony pointed over towards the TV.

Theo walked carefully to the corner of the desk. He kept his eye on the edge, looking down to the carpeted floor. There was a pair of sneakers next to the desk and several old, used garments of clothing strewn about. Plenty of things to break their fall if need be. He just didn't want to jump into another dude's underwear if he could help it.

"Over there! Not on the floor. But he does have a nice pair of sneakers." Anthony nodded approvingly. "Good taste."

Unsure what Anthony was pointing at, Theo looked around the room until he spotted the nice console underneath the mounted TV tucked into the corner. It had to be the newest console, looking sleek with a black chrome finish. Along with two others from different companies Theo recognized from one of the magazines they'd smuggled down to Rathole. That was before it got shredded for materials.

Several of their houses were made out of paper mache. It was an easily acquirable material for the thousands of rats back home. Using boxes and matches to set things up before reinforcing the walls with the paper they acquired. Their mother's job was spreading the sealant over the structures after, protecting them from water leakage and strengthening their foundations to support several structures on top.

Skyscrapers worth of cardboard structures stacked haphazardly on top of one another, all the way up to the ceiling where it connected to even more walkways and buildings.

It was a whole mess as Theo saw it. Cramped, crowded and noisy. It was a relief coming here in a way. Everything was so open! And spacious! He could just stop and take a breath without worried someone would bump into him. It gave him a chance to think.

"With more knowledge, I could build a place like this for us to live in." Theo wanted to tell his parents but knew they'd disapprove. He had begun to see the appeal in becoming one of the scavengers. Something Anthony wanted to join. If their parents let him.

"Over there!" Anthony practically hit Theo over the head, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh." Theo said, leaning over the edge and looking. "Yeah. Only a rich kid would buy each console." He chuckled. "Must be nice. Owning all this stuff. He has all this room to himself! Must be nice... Solitude." Theo sighed at the idea, his long pink furless tail swaying behind him over the desk.

"You know those companies employe Smalls, right?" Anthony said, looking at the biggest console with envy. "Could you imagine! Working for such a company. I bet Bigs would respect you then!"

"Really?" Theo was surprised to hear that. Usually Bigs kept smalls away, pretending they didn't exist. It was illegal to dispose of them like they did in the old days. Some people still did, seeing them as pests or vermin instead of sentient life.

Life that just happened to be one tenth your size. And had a nasty habit of biting back when cornered. They said to leave Small colonies alone or risk being stung as if they were a bunch of hornets. Some even argued about equal rights. Theo tried to stay away from the politics even as Smalls argued in the court of law. They could fight that battle.

Theo already knew what he wanted to do.

"Oh, yeah! I heard it from Kendle who heard it from his roommate's girlfriend sister." Anthony nodded as Theo suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. There were so many rats back home, it was hard to keep things straight. "They hire Smalls for all the, well, small technical stuff! They get paid really well to! There are a lot of places and things we can do that Bigs can't! We work directly with a Big and then they just move us to where we go. Slip inside the machine, through a crack or something, fix things up and then pop back out! Badda bing badda boom! Get paid."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, like I believe that." Theo rolled his eyes as his brother walked up beside him, placing a hand on his back.

"No, really! Like, just think about it. Something drops behind a desk or computer or something? A Big would have to move everything. Well, if they had a Small worker with them? They could just send them in and get whatever nut or bolt it was." Anthony said shaking his fat booty with it.

"Well... I guess that makes sense?" Theo said, humoring his brother as he walked back over towards one of the papers on the desk. He looked it over. "Looks like trigonometry." He said aloud. "I wonder what he's in class for. The Big, I mean. I know we're not supposed to make contact. Still interesting to see what they do, you know. It's so similar to us, it's scary. Math, no matter the size, is all the same."

Theo frowned at that, looking the equations over. Several of them the Big had gotten wrong and it took everything in him not to fix his mistakes.

"He also appears to be an idiot. If I fix these... No. If only things were that easy..." Theo sighed, shoulders falling with his already miniscule, small stature. "They would never take notice of someone as minute as us..."

"Does that matter?" Anthony was the one to roll his eyes. "Don't try to make a Big to be more than what they are. They're evil and sick. They love to torture and play with us like we're their damn toys. Don't go getting soft on me."

Theo snorted at that, for a second thinking his brother was joking after all he had just said. "You sound like dad."

"Well. Maybe he was right about this." Anthony shook his head.

It was a surprising thing to hear coming from his brother. Anthony was the one fascinated by them and their culture. Sneaking out late at night to come investigate and spy on them. Watching from a hole in the wall, crack in the tiles, or on the other side of a window. Watching people who were nearly identical to you, just a hundred times larger. Well, maybe not that large. It was hard to say, something Theo had never spent a long time thinking about. All he knew was that they were the size of action figures to the Bigs and were usually treated as such.

A fun, expendable toy at the expense of their life. Or pests...

As the stories went back home.

There was always someone back in Mouse Haven or Rathole that bragged about escaping a Big after being caught. Talking about how they fought them off or outsmarted one of them. Other than no-tail Steve, Theo doubted most of their stories to have any weight or merit to them. Just guys trying to brag about besting a Big. Getting caught seemed like the dumbest thing that could happen to a Small. Theo had spent most his days reading and hanging out in Rathole because of that, not wanting to risk it.

Yet, here he was now thanks to his brother in one of their rooms looking for a sweet treat.

It was better than sitting around all day, despite what his nerves and fears were warning him about.

As safe as Rathole was, it was a boring place. A loud, cramped, boring place. There was a reason why so many of the younger adults like Anthony wanted to head out and explore. Learning and seeing the other side of the world. Theo had snuck out with Anthony several times to see movies and steal popcorn before when they used to live within a theater.

Those trips had been safe and fun.

That was how Anthony had talked him into this.

Something Theo was regretting looking around the room.

There was something about being behind the other side of the looking glass that made things fun, interesting, and sparked his curiosity. As it was safe. Like watching a movie or reading a book. You could experience a new world without having to deal with it. Being here now, made his fur stand on end. Everything was gigantic. Large was an understatement. They towered and loomed over the rat who carefully walked over to the coffee mug on the desk.

The sweet yet acrid scent of coffee hit his nose, overpowering the male smell of the room for the brief moment he sniffed at it. Tail swaying, Theo got on his tip toes to look over the edge and into the mug. Creamy, half-drunk coffee was at the bottom. The warmth of it curled his whiskers as he breathed in the nice aroma.

"Wait..." Theo stopped. Why was the coffee still warm? Anthony said the Big wasn't around any longer and he wanted to trust his brother but a nagging fear in the back of his head told him to grab his brother and go. "Anthony."

Theodore turned to watch his brother jump off the desk.

"Anthony!" Theo squeaked, running over to where his brother had jumped. Skidding to the stop at the edge of the desk, Theo looked over it. "Where are you? Are you okay?" He squeaked above, looking around the room frantically. "Oh, this is bad, so very bad." He began grooming his whiskers out of nervous habit.

"Down here!" A voice squeaked up to him and Theo looked around.

It took him a moment to see movement within a discarded jersey on the ground. Soon enough his brown furred brother popped his whiskered face up and waved up at the albino rat above.

"Stinky but a lot softer than the floor!" Anthony just laughed, motioning for Theo to jump down with him. "Just make sure to land on something. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Theo quickly wiped his whiskers off several times, trying not to hyperventilate. "Okay. Okay! Time to go. Get back up here. We've had our fun. Let's just- Anthony!" He squeaked, jumping on the spot as he watched Anthony walk over to one of the sneakers.

The white sneaker had a red lightning bolt on the side of it that Anthony was checking out.

"Can you believe he has a Red Lightning? These are SO expensive!" Anthony just said, admiring the sneaker as he walked around. "Hardly used. Not that I blame him. These are SO nice! The ones that end up in the sewers are usually torn apart for materials. They're made so well, hard not to. Could you imagine wearing one of these...?"

"Anthony, please, for the love of cheese! Get back up here." Theo paced back and forth, looking towards the door several times. He was just waiting for it to burst open and for the Big to come stomping in.

"Dude," Anthony pulled himself over the edge to look inside. "I can fit my entire body inside." He laughed as he hopped into the shoe. "Ew, never mind. My mistake. These have been worn. A lot..." Anthony just sat on the rim of the shoe, wiping his bare feet off.

"Anthony!" Theo had enough and was jogging towards the pushed in chair. He grabbed hold of one of the wooden back support beams and slowly skittered his way down, sliding down most of it. He landed on the seat, looking over the edge.

"Oh, hey Theo!" Anthony waved up at him. "Here." And his brother jumped out of the shoe, pushing it over. "It's a little smelly but it's really soft inside! Just jump in. Perfect landing! Just ignore the sweatiness."

"Dude..." Theo just gagged. "What next? A used jockstrap?" The rat shook his head, not wanting to put his feet where a Bigs feet had been. Who knows if they're sanitary or not.

"Oh, come on. I know you got your quirks." Anthony rolled his eyes.

"Being aware of germs isn't quirky! It's sanitary and safe." Theo grumbled as he eased himself over the side. "If you read a damn book in your life... you'd know how dangerous they can be."

Anthony pushed the shoe closer and took a step back, trying to measure things out. "Okay, I think just right..." He adjusted it slightly to the left. "There. Go ahead and drop." He called up and Theo begrudgingly did.

Theo closed his eyes, letting go of the side and dropped the few feet to the ground. His legs caught on the edge of the shoe, and he fell backwards into it. Landing on the soft insole of the sneaker. The impact knocked the wind out of him and the first breath he took was filled with the shoes funky smell. A deep blush took Theo as he tried to scamper out of the shoe as quickly as he could.

Anthony was laughing his ass off as he walked over to help his brother out.

"That was hilarious! You just clipped the side and them BAM right inside." Anthony helped Theo up and out as the other rat pushed him aside, dusting himself off.

Theo wiped down his whiskers several times, hoping he didn't stink of it. It wasn't the smell that was bothering him, and he just hoped his brother didn't see his arousal from the potent male musk.

"He's definitely an athlete of some sort." Theo grumbled, adjusting his pants, hoping to hide the noticeable bulge within. "Dammit, just go down. Don't be weird!"

"Yeah, I think our big tiger friend is on the track team or something." Anthony nodded thinking about it, missing Theo's embarrassment.

It was at that, Theo froze. He turned towards his brother, practically creaking with the motion like a tin man that needed oil.

"T-t-tiger?" Theo half shouted the word before lowering his voice even more. "You mean this is a FELINE'S room? Are. You. An. Idiot?" Theo did shake his brother this time around. "Do you know how dangerous this is for us? A cat! A freaking Big cat!"

"What's wrong with cats?" Anthony asked, head swaying back and forth with Theo's shaking.

"They are the absolute worst! Other Bigs don't really give a damn or two shits about us Smalls." Theo took a step away, trying to breathe. All he could smell was the funky shoe smell covering him. He hated the fact he had gotten an arousal from a cat! A feline! A tiger of all kinds of cats, it had to be a tiger. The worse of the worst.

"How are they worse than other Bigs? They all suck." Anthony just rolled his eyes. "You're just being dramatic again."

"Dramatic?" Theo voice raised up an octave making him squeak as he jumped with the sound. "Deers? Rabbits? Cows or bulls? They don't care about us Smalls! We're tiny and insignificant to them. They're vegetarians and have little to no care about us, at all! Canines can be a nuisance from what I read, sure. Wanting to sniff and sometimes snuggle..." Theo blushed at the idea but quickly shook it away. "Other predators, like birds, definitely got to watch out for. Reason why we don't go outside much or live out in the open without the walls of buildings to protect us..." Theo just nodded, recalling his school lessons. "But cats!" He turned on his brother. "Cats are the absolute worse!"

Anthony just waved him off, walking further into the room.

"Have you never heard about the cat that played with his food... before eating it!" Theo was angry and shouting at his brother who just rolled his eyes as his stomach grumbled at the idea of food.

"I think I saw a minifridge around here somewhere. If not, maybe he stashed the snacks inside one of the drawers?" Anthony just rubbed his large belly thinking of all the tasty food he could munch on.

"Andy!" Theo chased after him. "Cats are different. Have you never heard of the stories behind them? They like to toy and play with us. They get off on it! Sick freaks. We can NOT be seen here when he returns."

"Exactly!" Anthony finally stopped and looked at Theo. "The sooner you help me find the snacks, the sooner we can haul them up to the escape hole and get out of here." He winked at his brother before sniffing around.

"And how, pray tell, are we supposed to get the food up to the desk?" Theo stopped at that, crossing his arms. Anthony just looked at him.

"You." His brother said making Theo's ears splay out.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're like super smart. You can use some of those cords in your satchel to hoist up the chocolate. Create one of those, what do you call them? Pulley systems! Yeah. With my strength and your wits, we're steal everything this Big owns!" Anthony just smiled and Theo tried not to blush at his brother's confidence in him.

"Andy." Theo whined as the other rat just planted his feet on the carpet. There were crumbs and discarded bits and pieces of leftover food on the floor around the bed, backing up what Anthony had to say about snacks.

College guys and their midnight snacks, Theo sighed shaking his head in defeat.

"Look. Tiger? Wolf? Panda bear? It doesn't matter." Anthony just shook his head. "They're all the same. Fat, lazy and comfortable. They don't realize how lucky they got it. It's our job to take advantage of that and steal as much as we can! For everyone's sake."

"Don't bring our family into this." Theo sighed, shoulders slouching. "We both know your guided more by your stomach than brain."

"Look. If we head back with nothing and they find out, we were here? We'll be dead! But, but, but, but... if we bring back something, I'm sure mum and dad will let me join the scavengers guild! Just like uncle was!" Anthony eyes sparkled at the idea.

"...That's what all this is about?" Theo couldn't believe it. Risky their lives to fulfill some kind of silly fantasy. Yet, Theo couldn't blame his brother either. Theo wanted to carve his own path in life and not just follow his father at the paper mill.

"Well, I mean, if I can show them, I'm capable of sneaking into a place unnoticed and bring back proof, they have to let me join, right?" Anthony reasoned out with a shrug. It was clear he was living by a hope and a prayer on is dream.

Theo didn't want to burst his bubble but also didn't want to see his brother hurt because of it.

"Why am I even here then?" Theo grumbled, rubbing his whiskers in agitation as the two stood there in the middle of the room. Neither of the two rats even came up to the bottom of the bed. They were barely taller than the knocked over sneaker next to them.

"You're smart." Anthony shrugged. "You're capable. Sure, you got a lot of... quirks. But like, there is no one else I rather have watching my back." Anthony gave his brother a big smile. "Besides... you can't just stay locked up in the library all day. Got to get out and live alone! Smell the flowers," he took a huge breath before coughing. "Okay, maybe don't stand next to old laundry when you sniff the flowers."

"Reading is good for you." Theo grumbled, his tail curling around his legs.

"Also, safe." Anthony was the one to point out, making his brother's ears splay out and whiskers droop. "I know you, Anthony. You're so bright and strong and quick! But you're also a scaredy rat. You lock yourself away with the books and computers Vanessa set up. I know you like to read and learn new things," Anthony held up a hand to stop his brother from arguing. "But experience is the best teacher, Theo."

"And what am I supposed to do with all this... experience?" Theo hated how he still smelled like jock shoe. A feline shoe at that. He desperately needed a shower.

"Well," Anthony coughed, looking to the side unable to meet his brother's eyes. "I was thinking, maybe, you could sign up with me... for the scavenger's guild." He gave a meek smile, trying to convince his brother.

"With you?" Theo hadn't seen that coming.

"Yeah! I mean, think about it. Two brothers, united against the Bigs! We'll steal from the large and give to the tiny. It'll be perfect. Mum can't say no if your there with me! Stealing all those good things... for the colony." Anthony crossed his arms over his fat belly and nodded. His stomach rumbled again, and Theo knew exactly what his brother wanted to steal.

"Well, if you do plan on getting in on this. You have to lose some weight first." Theo walked over, patting his brother's stomach with a laugh.

"I'm working on it!" Anthony grumbled as Theo moved past. "And I think I smell some food from the nightstand. Right next to the bed? Late time snackies? Makes sense."

"Sure, little bro. Sure." Theo was the one to tease as he faced towards the bed. The bedding was slightly drooped down off the side of it and would be the perfect anchor to grab onto.

Picking up speed, Theo ran over and jumped into the air. He grabbed onto the edge of the bed's blanket and clawed his way up quickly. Anthony whistled, watching Theo go. There really was a reason why he thought his brother would be capable of this as he watched the rat ascend, reaching the top of the bed in a matter of seconds.

"Nothing to it!" Theo laughter falter as he looked around, regretting his life's choices.

The bed was an expanse of rolling navy-blue sheets that created hills and trenches. Theo's nose twitched but he shook away the powerful male smell as he turned towards the nightstand next to the bottom bunk, focusing on the task at hand. Running over the bed, he bounced on its surface several times, gaining height with each jump, before springing across the gape between the bed and the nightstand. He landed on the top of it and struck a pose like an Olympic gymnasts.

Theo waved to Anthony down below as he posed for his brother.

"See. Easy." Anthony just said, trying to keep up. His brother hadn't even gotten halfway up the bed sheets yet. The fat rat was panting like a dog in the summer's heat, sweat trickling down his brow and neck as he struggled to pull his girth up the rest of the way.

Theo cringed when Anthony used the sheets to dab the sweat off his brow.

"What you get for skipping gym class." Theo laughed, shaking his head. "It's mandatory for a reason, Andy." He walked over to the edge of the nightstand and looked down. The top drawer of the nightstand was ajar, and Theo was sure he could squeeze inside. "Lucky." He rubbed his hands together, getting excited once more.

He hated to admit it, but this was a lot more fun than being stuck in a stuffy, musty library reading about what other rats had accomplished over the years.

Anthony finally got to the top of the bed and rolled over onto his back, panting. There was a reason why he had dropped down from the desk instead of climbing down as Theo had. He wanted to impress his brother but was struggling to do the simplest tasks.

Theo laughed, looking at his brother.

"You just stay there." Theo waved towards Anthony before hopping down onto the edge of the drawer. Balancing on the wood, he slid his body between the opening and ajar drawer. Sliding both feet inside, he pushed against the drawer with all his strength, straining just to push it a couple of inches before calling it good.

There was a rat saying. As long as your head can fit? So can the rest of you. Theo hoped that was true as he disappeared inside the drawer as Anthony sat up, looking over towards him.

"Find anything?" Anthony called hopefully, unsure how much more of this he could take. He really needed to hit the gym again.

"Jackpot!" Theo popped his head back up, pulling up a bag of potato chips to show off. It was far lighter than he expected it to be. The bag was larger than he was as he tried to pull it through the opening. The air-filled bag made it rather difficult to.

"Score! With my sniffer and your skills, we can fill our stomachs all year round." Anthony suddenly found a second wind and was on his feet, jogging over. "Yes, jackpot! I love crinkled chips. Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!"

The air-filled bag got caught in the opening and it crinkled loudly as Theo tried to pull it out. "Dang it. I hate when they fill these with air to make them look bigger than they are." Disgruntledly, Theo tore open the top with his teeth before squeezing the air out.

"This is perfect. I can't wait!" Anthony gave Theo the creepy hands. "Toss a chip over. Toss the bag over! I'll gobble it all up."

"Give me the whip." Theo called back.

"Throw me the idol!" Anthony said as the two laughed about the exchange, glad to have come out of this with something.

Theo dug his hand inside and came up with nothing. Ripping the top open, he slid the top portion of his body inside to snag one of the chips for himself and his brother in reward. High risk, high reward as they say.

"Cheap corporate bastards can't even fill a chip bag." Theo grumbled as he pulled one out. His fur was coated in light seasoning and salt from the bag. Tossing the chip like a Frisbee to his brother, he wiped off his whiskers. "I smell like a damn potato chip," he laughed.

Anthony had to take a couple steps back before jumping to catch the flying chip.

"SO good though!" Anthony just munched away, making a small mess on the bed as he did so. He licked his fingers after, using them to pick up the small fallen crumbs and nom each one up. "Oh, so good!"

"They can't be that good." Theo laughed, watching his brother.

"Try one, try one!" Anthony said standing up. "And toss me another."

"You'll be too fat to fit through the escape hole if you keep this up." Theo teased as he opened the bag back up.

"I'm beautifully plump." Anthony lifted up his gut, then dropped it.

The two laughed, forgetting where they were and the risk they were taking. Everything was going far smoother than Theo or Anthony had feared and the two brothers were enjoying the time together. They always had been close, which was saying something when your community numbers in the quadruple digits.

Laughing, they each shared a chip toasting in the air to their success, curious at what else they could find during this trip.

That was until the handle to the door shook and they both froze as reality set back in like a cold bucket of ice dumped over the brothers. The two exchanged a look as the handle to the door shook several more times as Theo stared at his brother pleadingly, unsure what to do about this, mouth hanging open slightly with the chip inches from his lips.

All the lectures and training the two had gone through were about not being caught, not about what to do if you were caught.

"Hide!" Anthony just shouted before jumping behind the pillow on the bed and squirming his fat body underneath it.

"Shit." Theo could only say, doing the first thing that came to mind as the door swung open suddenly and light from the adjoining hallway poured into the room. The albino rat slipped inside the open chip back and slid all the way down to the bottom as he held his breath.

There was a stillness in the air and all Theo could hear was the pounding of his heart thumping in his ears.

Theo could hear the sound of his breaths and quickly covered his mouth with both hands, clenching his eyes shut and waiting for this nightmare to be over. The bag around him crinkled up and sunk down as the rats body rested on top of the salted coated chips. His weight making it sag back down into the drawer, only the top of it poking free, and with it the light from the window of the room seeping through reminding him of his sins and arrogance.

The door slammed shut, shaking the room slightly. A light was flicked on. A cruel harsh light from above.

Theo could see the light above as he heard it. The heavy steps of the Big walking into the room. Every step they took seemed to shake the room around him. The movies were never this loud, never this intimidating and Theo just whimpered pitifully as the sound became louder, clearer as it approached him with heavy steps that shook the ground.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The steps went. Heavy steps that shook the room slightly and sent vibrations through Theo's body as he closed his eyes again, praying to the cheese gods that the college student had just forgotten something and was planning to head out again. Their backpack was dropped unceremoniously to the side of the room as they let out a deep groan, stretching before taking the final steps over.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Every step made Theo tense. Dark, cruel thoughts running through his head about those feet stepping on him and his brother. This was a nightmare he was very awake to experience.

"Just leave. Just leave. Please. Just leave..." Theo pleaded under his breath.

There was no such luck as he heard him. A deep rumbling sound as the tiger yawned loudly, stretching his arms up in the air before turning and flopping onto the nearby bed. The bed creaked under the massive weight landing on it. The springs barely able to keep the tiger up as it sunk low enough to nearly touch the floor.

"Fuckin' day." A voice grumbled above. It was loud, booming and deep as Theo just curled up tighter, hoping to just vanish. "Can't believe she had us come in to just turn in our papers. She must really hate her students. What a puta."

Pedro Perez had his phone in hand, texting away as he rested back against the pillow. He didn't notice that one of his shoes had been moved or that there were extra crumbs on the bed. The tiger had headphones on, pulling up a video his friend sent him to listen in, not paying attention to anything else in the room.

At such a size, such smaller minor differences in his already messy room went unnoticed and uncared for. Who'd notice a small hole in the wall? Or the fact the nightstand drawer was open more than it had been that morning.

The tiger didn't even notice the strange pea shaped lump under his pillow as he rested the full weight of his head against it. The pillow sunk in from the weight, pressing down on the trapped rat hiding underneath as Anthony struggled to breath. He was just glad the pillow was so soft, and the bed had a lot of give to it.

With a grumbling stomach, the tiger reached over towards his side drawer. He had set up the nightstand to be close enough for him to reach and his fingers brushed the surface of the chip's bag opening. Not caring that it was open, the tiger reached his fingers inside for something salty to distract his appetite with. It would be hours before lunch and he needed something to sate his hunger after skipping breakfast to make it in time for class.

Theo couldn't believe what he was seeing. The opening of the bag crinkled and moved before several pale orange furred covered fingers reached in towards him. For a split second his brain just froze as the fingers sunk deeper, wiggling their ways in towards the potato chips he was resting on. It was only at the last moment it clicked, and the albino rat quickly grabbed one of the chips at his side and offered it up to the fingers above as if to appease a hungry god.

The tiger's fingers tips brushed the chip and closed around it. The fragile thing cracked from his strong grip before being crassly pulled out of the bag and tossed into a fanged maw. Theo could hear the crunching sound and shivered, aware that could be his very bones if he weren't careful.

"Got to get out of here. Get Anthony. And run..." Theo swallowed, trying to think of the best thing to do right now. Would it be safer to stay in here? Would it be to risky and noisy for him to try and escape? Unaware the tiger was currently distracted and listening to music, Theo took the safer route and stayed where he was.

He'd offer up one chip after another to the hungry hand reaching in for him. Each time, his offerings were taken and accepted. Feeding the hungry giant nearby. The tiger's fingers would vanish each time. Depositing the chip, sometimes licking the fingers clean before going in for another one as the minutes ticked slowly by.

Theo was quickly running out of chips to offer as he squirmed and wormed his way to the bottom of the bag, coating himself in bits and pieces of the chips. He wasn't sure what to do and wondered if he should bite the hand or try and chew his way out.

The latter only came to mind at the last second, the smarter of the two decisions. Theo unable to think under pressure.

Neither option became available as the fingers returned, just out of reach, and wiggled around inside the bag for anything else to grab. Theo was thankful they quickly disappeared. Right before his heart leapt into his throat as his entire world shifted and the bag of chips were hoisted up into the air.

Pedro sat up on the bed, lifting up the bag of chips, shaking them around. He felt a weight inside the bag and figured all that was left were crumbs. With a shrug, and not a care in the world, the tiger just tilted his head back, opened his maw and dumped the contents of the chips within.

Theo's world turned upside down as the opening of the bag tilted downwards and everything became clear as to what was happening. The rat saw the tiger's muzzle open wide and a damp red carpet roll out to greet and welcome him in as the bag was shaken once, then twice as all the crumbs and pieces inside came tumbling out right onto that drool covered welcome mat.

A satisfying growl filled the air as the salty crumbs were licked and swallowed away with a sickening gulp. Drool dripped down Pedro's lips as the tiger opened his eyes and Theo looked down that muzzle straight into them.

The albino rat was holding onto the opening of the bag with both hands and feet as the two just stared at each other for the longest minute of their combined lives. The tiger's eyes widened as the rusty gears in his head tried to turn to understand what he was looking at.

"Uh... hi?" Theo said, unsure what else to do in that moment.

"Tu puta madre!" Pedro shouted as he dropped the bag, scrambling backwards as Theo was tossed into the air from the act. His white furred body went spinning in the air before plummeting to the floor below.

Thankfully, there was a pair of shorts to break Theo's fall and he fell onto the musky fabric dazed and confused as to what had just happened.

"Careful for that first step." Theo tried to sit up before spinning and falling face first into the shorts. "It's a doozy."

The tiger had pulled up his feet, curling his striped tail around his ankles as his brain tried to catch up to what had just happened. And the fact the thing inside the bag had spoken to him! Rusty gears finally began to turn as the light bulb flickered to life.

"W-wait, was that a Small?" Pedro was utterly confused as the tiger clawed towards the edge of the bed and dared to peek over the side. "Uh, hello down there? A-are you alright?" The tiger asked timidly.

Theo looked up into that pale orange furred, black striped face and nearly wet himself in pure fright. His body froze up for a moment as he just stared at the tiger looking down at him.

"A-are you okay?" Pedro asked, reaching down slowly with a hand to check on the rat.

Theo was having none of that as he jumped to his feet and sprinted underneath the bed, weaving past all the junk stashed underneath and hid against the far wall, breathing heavily as he clung to it. There was a heavy thud behind him, and the rat didn't dare look as the tiger fell off the bed, face first.

"Fuck, ow. Shit, sorry. Sorry!" Pedro rolled over, thudding against the floor before turning over and looking under the bed. "I'm sorry! I almost didn't mean to eat you, I swear! It was an accidente." The tiger just quickly said as he reached in for the rat blindly searching with a hand larger than Theo was.

Theo didn't let those fingers get any closer as he sprinted for the edge of the bed and broke out into the room.

"Anthony!" Theo shouted up towards the bed. He was glad his brother had enough awareness to come out from hiding and he spied him on the far side, past the tiger on all fours before him. The tiger lifted up his head, those bright green eyes turning to look at him. The feline easily picking up the movement of the small rodent running across his floor.

"Whoa, shit. You really can talk..." Pedro gasped, just staring down at the rat. The tiger jumped as Theo sprinted towards him.

Taking the safer route, Theo ducked back under the bed as the tiger grabbed his tail and moved away from the scared looking rodent in his room. The massive tiger stumble backwards and crashed against the wall and nearly fell onto the consoles in front of the TV.

"Easy! Easy, I won't hurt you. I swear!" Pedro was trying to explain. The blood pounding in Theo's ears made it hard to hear anything as he darted underneath the bed to the other side.

"Anthony." Theo called back up as he reached the far wall. Scrambling up the wooden support beam of the bed, he climbed the bed next to the wall to hide his body from view. He popped up quickly enough to see the tiger on his knees just staring at the fat rat waving a tiny hand at him from behind his pillow. Anthony, unsure what the plan was now that they had come out of hiding.

The tiger's jaw just hung open as he gawked at one, then at the other rat that came out from hiding.

"Dude, you were on my bed." Pedro just stared at Anthony who was to shock to do much other than waddle towards his brother slowly, picking up speed as he went, unable to look at the tiger any longer as if pretending he weren't there.

"Big jump." Theo said kicking Anthony's ass and forcing his brother to jump the gap between the bed and nightstand. Theo quickly followed.

"Whoa..." Pedro just watched as one rat led the other around and across the room, using the nightstand, console cords, and TV stand to get back to the desk they had started on. "W-wait!" Pedro got to his feet heavily as he turned on the two standing on his desk. "Look, easy, I'm not gonna' hurt either of you, rata." He lifted up his hands too quickly, making Theo jump.

"Run!" Theo just shouted at his brother, pushing him towards the exit on the far side of the desk.

"W-wait!" Pedro jumped forward, tripping over the misplaced shoe on the floor and hitting the side of the desk with his chin hard enough to make the two rats on it bounce into the air. "Oof, fuck. This is not my day," the tiger cursed, resting against it as the two stopped in front of him.

With the giant slumped over the side of the desk, the three just exchanged a look. Pedro's arms were draped over the desk, blocking their exit and their retreat. Realizing this, the tiger slowly got up.

"Easy does it. I'm not going to hurt you." Pedro tried to keep his voice calm but saw both the rat's wince at the booming sound of his deep voice. Licking his lips, the tiger could taste the salty chips and drooled slightly. "I'm not," he began, and drool trickled from his lips.

It splattered on the desk before the two making the three of them freeze.

"Run!" One of the two shouted and the two rats did.

"Wait!" Pedro tried to say, lifting up one arm to reach for the closest rat. Theo easily side stepped the swiping grab, sliding underneath it. Anthony wasn't fast enough for the second swipe and gave a startled squeak as he was grabbed.

The tiger's fingers caught the fat rat and carefully lifted him up off the ground. Anthony's feet were still moving as if he were trying to run, and Pedro chuckled softly at that as he watched the rat try to run in midair.

"Got you, little amigo." Pedro began, trying, once more, and failing to communicate that he meant them no harm. "Now, just listen for two freaking seconds." The tiger sighed, standing up. Just to get hit in the face by the eraser that Theo threw at him.

Theo had grabbed the pink eraser, spinning it and his body around several times to pick up momentum before launching it at the Bigs face.

"Let him go!" Theo shouted as he grabbed the pencil and turned it around to jab the pointed end into the tiger's hand on the desk.

Pedro cursed in a growling Spanish, dropped Anthony on the spot as he pulled back. Theo dropped the pencil, reaching up with open hands for his brother before regretting it as the fat rat fell on him. Theo landed on his back as the heavy weight came crashing down on top of him.

At least Anthony was pleasantly plump, only knocking the wind out of Theo.

"Need to lay off the chips, bro." Theo gasped as Anthony got his ass out of his face. Getting to his feet, Theo pushed Anthony forward towards the exit.

That was when he felt his tail get grabbed.

"Theo!" Anthony squeaked as he watched his brother get easily dragged back and lifted off the ground by a very disgruntled looking tiger, glaring down at the two.

"Just run, Andy!" Theo shouted at him before being spun around to look into the angry tiger's face.

"Don't." Pedro's breath smelled of potato chips as it washed over the front of Theo's body. "Try anything." He warned. Pedro picked up the coffee mug, drained it of it's contents before dropping Theo into it. "Fuck, that really hurt, dude." The tiger licked at his paw as he looked down into the cup.

"Please don't drink me!" Theo cowered at the bottom of the coffee-stained cup, covering his face. "I'm sorry we stole some chips."

The gears in the tiger's head slowly turned at that.

"Ah, that explains why you were in the chip bag." Pedro chuckled. "And here I thought you wanted to get eaten. Whoa, bullet dodged, huh, rata?"

Theo wasn't sure what to say to that as he heard, rather than saw, Anthony coming back out.

Pedro watched as the fat rat tried to mimic his brother, throwing something at the tiger's face. It didn't even hit the tiger's chest, sailing off the side of the desk missing it's mark.

"Oi, I do have to clean that up." Pedro warned, turning the coffee cup around and placing it upside down on the desk trapping Theo underneath. "Now then. I got your little amigo, you just a take breather, ya'? Then we can all talk about this."

"I'm sorry Theo!" Anthony cried as he turned around and ran his fat little body across the desk and into the hole that Pedro only now spied on his desk.

"Did you little Bastardo chew a hole in my wall?" Pedro reached a finger out, a claw poking from the end to scratch at the spot. "Damn, that's some fine chewing though..." He muttered before looking down at the mug on the desk. "Now then, what to do with you, little intruso?"

Pedro lifted the mug up slowly, ready to snatch up the rat with a hand as he did. The mug lifted but there was no rat to be found. Confused, the tiger lifted the mug up to look inside with an eye. Just for Theo to spit what was left of the coffee into Pedro's face.

The spray of coffee, though small, was enough to get in Pedro's eye, making the tiger drop the mug.

"Ah, puta! You little bastardo!" Pedro cursed as the mug hit the table.

Running inside it like a mouse wheel, Theo turned the mug towards the hole in the wall before jumping out. Tucking in and rolling, Theo got back to his feet just in time to dive through the hole and to freedom as a massive tiger hand came slamming down on where he was.

"Theo!" Anthony was waiting for him and gave him grimy brother a hug. Theo was covered in potato chip dust and his body was dripping with coffee, smelling like an inside of a shoe. The two brothers didn't mind as they hugged, snuggling closer for a second before letting go.

"Well. I think I lost five years of my life." Theo could feel the rush of it, his heart pounding in his chest as he laughed with his brother before nearly falling forward. "I could've gotten eaten. Or crushed!" He laughed a bit hysterically as he grabbed at his chest.

Taking a moment, the two quickly began distancing themselves after hearing the tiger behind them scratching at the hole they had come through.

"Looks like we'll have to mark off this entrance and seal up the tunnels..." Theo was not looking forward to that conversation. They were going to be in so much trouble. At least they had their lives, unless their mother skinned them after this.

"You had some sick moves out there! I didn't know you could do that." Anthony was clearly impressed now that the two were safe. Anthony hugged his brother once more. "I'm sorry. I froze when I saw him... he was so big!"

"Hah, that is why we call them Bigs, Andy." Theo just ruffled his brother's head before checking his back. The strap wasn't there, and he frantically looked around for it. "My bag! I lost my bag. I must've left it when the Big came in."

"Oh no," Anthony got teary eyed. "Did you drop it during...?"

Theo couldn't recall. One second, he had it. The next second a tiger was about to eat him. Everything after that was a blur.

"No. No, I left it on the desk before we jumped down. Dammit all, I should've grabbed it. I forgot." Theo panicked just as bad as when he thought he was going to end up as a tasty morsel for a hungry tiger.

"You had so many cool things in it, to..." Anthony felt terrible. "I'm sorry Theo. I know how important that was to you..."

"It's fine, Andy. I'm just glad you are safe!" Theo just shook it off. While bothered by the loss, he was just happy to know Andy was safe. Maybe now, his brother wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Let's go home." Theo said, wrapping an arm around his brother's neck. "I need a bath!"

"Right..." Anthony glanced behind them, towards the tunnel to the college students room. "Right..." He nodded, planning to do something very stupid to make it up to his brother...

What risk would there be just to get a tiny sized, barbie doll hand bag back?

To be continued...?